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The Gospel Observer
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19,20).
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May 12, 2013
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Contents:
1) 1 Timothy 6:12-15 (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
1 Timothy 6:12-15
by Tom Edwards
Due to Christians being involved in a spiritual battle, Paul exhorts
Timothy to "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal
life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in
the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim. 6:12). Paul also lived
this instruction. For when he knew that death was near, and
looking back over his life as a Christian, he was able to say, "...I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept
the faith..." (2 Tim. 4:6-8). It was also in 1 Timothy 1:18,
where Paul had first urged Timothy to "fight the good fight." And in
2 Timothy 2:3,4, to "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus...." (cf. Philippians 2:25, Ephesians 6:11, and 1
Thessalonians 5:8.)
To see the spiritual nature of this battle, consider 2 Corinthians
10:3-5: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to
the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but
divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are
destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the
knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the
obedience of Christ." It has been said that where more battles
have been fought than any other place is the battle ground of the
human heart. For our very thoughts are to be under control,
and we must strive to triumph over every temptation (cf. Jms.
1:13-15; 1 Cor. 10:13). To help us in doing this, the soldier
of Christ has "the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and
the left" (2 Cor. 6:7). But we must avail ourselves of these
through the gospel. For instance, Paul instructs the Christian
to "...take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God"
(Eph. 6:17). So it is there for our taking.
Timothy is also told to "take hold of the eternal life to which you
were called...." Isn't that an interesting phrase? For
if salvation were totally up to God, man would have no
responsibility toward acquiring it. But that is not what this
passage indicates. For not only is the Christian saved from
past sins by obedience to the gospel, there is still also a need for
him to persevere in the faith, throughout his life, to eventually
receive that eternal life in heaven. As Hebrews 10:36
declares, "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have
done the will of God, you may receive what was promised."
Receiving what had been promised is also what Paul had been
diligently striving for: "Not that I have already obtained it or
have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold
of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but
one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to
what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the
upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:12-14). The need
for this is also seen in 2 Peter 1:10,11: "Therefore, brethren, be
all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing
you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never
stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to
you." So the faithful child of God is on the road that leads
to eternal life, but he must remain on that road to arrive at that
destination. As the Bible shows, the saints have "the hope of
eternal life" (Titus 1:2; 3:7). It is a "promise" that will
come to pass in that glorious place called heaven (cf. 1 Jn. 2:25).
.
Paul also makes mention of the "good confession" that Timothy had
made in the presence of many witnesses. What is this "good
confession"? It is the good confession about Jesus, and one
that the Lord had made even about Himself when implored by the high
priest: "But He kept silent, and made no answer. Again the high
priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, 'Are You the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed One?' And Jesus said, 'I am; and you
shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and
COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN'" (Mark 14:61,62). This kind
of acknowledgment is also what Paul is alluding to in 1
Timothy 6:13 when he speaks of "...Christ Jesus, who testified the
good confession before Pontius Pilate." It's been said that
Christ made this good confession and died for making it, so that we
might be able to make that same good confession (along with the
other steps to salvation) in order to have life and live forever.
For Romans 10:9,10 shows that this good confession is made unto
salvation: "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall
be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in
salvation."
This is not to say, however, that one can be saved by this
confession alone; but if Christ truly is Lord of one's life, then
that person is one who is submitting to all that the Lord requires
-- such as the plan of salvation, which also includes belief,
repentance, and baptism.
The Ethiopian eunuch is a good example of one who made this good
confession, prior to his baptism: "And Philip opened his mouth, and
beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. And as
they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch
said, 'Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?'
[And Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you
may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God.'] And he ordered the chariot to stop;
and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the
eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:35-38). There is
also a practicality in that confession being heard by the one doing
the baptizing. For baptism will do nothing to save a soul if
that person has no faith in the Lord. Jesus says, "He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved..." (Mk. 16:16).
And Paul also shows that need for faith and baptism (Gal. 3:26,27),
as well as Peter (Acts 2:36-38). Both are necessary for
salvation. So the baptizer can know that the one who makes
this confession and has repented of sin is one who can then be
baptized for the remission of sins. For there would be no
sense in baptizing someone who had no faith, nor had not repented.
Think, too, of the assurance Romans 10:9,10 gives to those who would
actually lose their physical lives through martyrdom for
acknowledging their faith in Jesus. For they can know that
such a confession is seen in connection with their salvation.
Corresponding to this is the Lord's promise in Matthew 10:32:
"Everyone therefore who shall confess Me before men, I will also
confess him before My Father who is in heaven." This is said
in the same context in which the Lord declares, "And do not fear
those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather
fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (v. 28);
and "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost
his life for My sake shall find it" (v. 39).
Paul then says in 1 Timothy 6:13, "I charge you in the presence of
God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who
testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate."
The KJV uses the phrase "who quickeneth [zoopoieo] all
things." One of the meanings of this Greek word is "to cause
to live, make alive, give life" (Thayer); and the Lord is certainly
the one who makes that possible. Even though it is now set up
in the natural order of the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and
the human kingdom for life to reproduce through natural means, it is
still God who is to be credited for that. For He is the one
who made life and all things and, therefore, also "wrote the script"
for the DNA code so that each kind will reproduce after their own
kind and with their own unique design. Consider, for instance,
part of Paul's sermon on Mars Hill (the Areopagus): "The God
who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven
and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He
served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He
Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; and He made
from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the
earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries
of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they
might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one
of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your
own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' Being
then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine
Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art
and thought of man" (Acts 17:24-29).
Paul then gives Timothy the following charge in 1 Timothy 6:14:
"...keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." God's precepts are to be
carried out "without stain or reproach." Paul had also
previously instructed Timothy to "...keep yourself free from sin" (1
Tim. 5:22). And this is also God's desire for the church:
"that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory,
having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be
holy and blameless" (Eph. 5:27). James also points out that
"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is
this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep
oneself unstained by the world" (Jms. 1:27). And Peter also
teaches, "Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be
diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless" (2
Pet. 3:14).
How long are these commandments to be kept? Paul says, "until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ...." So, in other
words, until the Lord's second coming, which will be at the last day
when the saints will meet Him in the air (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-18) and
"...be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump..." when the "...mortal shall have put on
immortality..." (1 Cor. 15:50-54). Paul also speaks of
this "appearing" (epiphaneia) in Titus 2:13, where God's grace
instructs the saints to be "looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ
Jesus." Yes, that is definitely something to be looking
forward to!
To be faithful until Christ comes again involves our being faithful
until (or unto) death (cf. Rev. 2:10). For when we pass away,
our record is sealed; and it will be by that which we will be judged
when Jesus comes. So the expression, to "keep the
commandment... until the appearing of our Lord," is a way of also
saying to keep the commandment throughout the rest of your life --
or until death.
And when will that appearing of Christ be? Paul says in 1
Timothy 6:15, "which He will bring about at the proper time -- He
who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of
lords." God always has a right time for doing things.
For instance, concerning Christ's first coming into this world, it,
too, occurred at the proper time -- or the appointed or destined
time, which is the meaning of "the fulness of time" in Galatians
4:4, which reads, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent
forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law." Jesus'
death was also at God's appointed time: "For while we were still
helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom.
5:6). Consider also Acts 1:7. When the apostles
questioned the Lord about the restoration of the kingdom of Israel,
Jesus declares in this verse, "...'It is not for you to know times
or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.'"
The KJV uses the term "Potentate" in 1 Timothy 6:15, which the NASB
translates as "Sovereign." The dictionary defines the English
word "potentate" as "a person who possess great power, as a
sovereign, monarch, or ruler" (Random House Webster's College
Dictionary). That certainly does describe Jesus, who states in
Matthew 28:18, "...'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth.'" Christ's exalted position can also be seen in
Ephesians 1:20,21: "which He brought about in Christ, when He raised
Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one
to come."
The phrase "king of kings" is sometimes used in the Scriptures in
referring to an earthly king: For instance, "Artaxerxes, king
of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of
heaven, perfect peace..." (Ezra 7:12). In Ezekiel 26:7, the
Lord refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, as being "king
of kings"; and Daniel also calls him that (Dan. 2:37,38).
Note, too, that Daniel makes it clear to Nebuchadnezzar why he is
this king of kings: It is because God had given him that position of
power: "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of
heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the
glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the
field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and
has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold."
There are only three places where "King of kings" is used in the New
Testament, which is also seen with the phrase "Lord of lords"; and
they all refer to Deity. These are located in our passage
under consideration (1 Tim. 6:15) and also twice in the Revelation
letter. It is obvious in the Revelation letter that this
phrase is used of Jesus: "These will wage war against the Lamb, and
the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of
kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and
faithful" (Rev. 17:14). Jesus is "the Lamb of God," a phrase
that John the Baptist also uses in referring to Jesus (John 1:29 and
36). See also Revelation 19:11-16.
Since Jesus is the King of kings, His authority is greater than that
of any other -- with the exception of the Father's (cf. 1 Cor.
15:27). May we who are Christians, therefore, also submit to
these instructions to Timothy to "Fight the good fight of faith," to
"take hold of the eternal life" to which we have been called, to
keep the Lord's commandments "without stain or reproach" throughout
our lives, and to look forward to the second coming of Christ, which
will occur in God's proper time. For then we will truly be
ready for that time -- and for the eternity to come!
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News & Notes
On May 8, Jean Calloway, who has been in poor health for a
long time, suffered a cardiac arrest while undergoing
dialysis. She was then given CPR and taken to the nearest
hospital, where she had spent some time in ICU, but is now in a
regular room. The right side of her heart is not working as it
should, and other organs are also not functioning properly.
She also has a leakage in her heart and has been undergoing dialysis
due to fluid build-up. The tracheal tube has been removed, and
she is now receiving just 2 liters of oxygen, which has her oxygen
level at 100%. They are also giving her physical therapy and
will probably keep her in the hospital a few more weeks to continue
that. She has been in some pain. Let those of us who are
Christians keep her in our prayers -- and her family, too.
Let us also be remembering the following in prayer:
Virginia Fontenot. She is receiving chemo therapy for
stage 4 cancer and recently had several "better" days, which we have
been glad and thankful for.
Pam MacDonald. She is still healing from her recent
back surgery that required adding 16 pieces of metal to her spinal
column. All went well.
Bill Barfield (Virginia's brother). He has been in a
few different hospitals continuously since March 2012.
* Let us also be remembering the following
in prayer: Linda
Blevins who has been diagnosed with bilateral renal
artery stenosis; Tom Smitherman (Lee's father) who has been
diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer; Cheryl
Crews who has some chronic ailments; and Shirley Young who
suffers from fibromyalgia.
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that is how faith comes (Rom.
10:17; John 20:30,31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ (John 8:24; John
3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5; Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9,10; Acts
8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the remission of sins
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; 1 Pet.
3:21).
6) Continue in the faith; for, if not, salvation can
be lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Park Forest
CHURCH OF CHRIST
9923 Sunny Cline Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817
Sunday services: 9:00 AM (Bible class); 10 AM & 6 PM (worship)
Tuesday: 7 PM (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (225) 667-4520
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/go
(Gospel Observer website)
http://ThomasTEdwards.com/audioser.html
(audio sermons)